


the world without light

by setosdarkness



Series: the world without [2]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Final Haikyuu!! Quest AU, M/M, aliens are real
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-25
Updated: 2014-10-25
Packaged: 2018-02-22 14:40:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2511371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/setosdarkness/pseuds/setosdarkness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oikawa (was, is, will) (always) be a King. </p><p>[AKA: Oikawa searches for Iwaizumi and becomes the Dark King in the process.] [Final Haikyuu!! Quest AU set in canon timeline] [also, aliens are real]</p><p>[There are still one-hundred-eighty-four countries left. He doesn't mind destroying them one by one until he finds Iwa-chan. After all, he's a Dark King now.]</p><p>also: [Hinata's kind of disappointed that he's never had the chance to actually go to the Tokyo Tower when it wasn't occupied by aliens and by sadistic Dark Kings who think they can just start owning the country and cutting off all television shows and shuttling off people to create ghost towns everywhere and causing so much trouble that the Olympics are going to be pushed back indefinitely.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	the world without light

**Author's Note:**

> SORRY for part one guys. I had to.
> 
> Content: This is part two of my "the world without" series, which is actually a Final Haikyuu!! Quest-inspired/based, canon-divergent AU. This will be fairly short, not only because I don't want to write so many words of Oikawa's suffering, but also because this is mostly just an intermission piece. The major parts will be part three (Iwaizumi's POV) and part four (ensemble). Focus is still mainly on Oikawa (and Iwaizumi), but almost all HQ characters will make appearances.
> 
> Other notes: Mentions of character death, hallucinations, violence, supernatural influences, etc. Just a heads-up: if my title for the previous installment was "misleading IWAOI fluff", then my title for this installment is "Oikawa's descent into madness". Oikawa's POVs are jumping all over the place, since he's not exactly in a very stable frame of mind right now.

  
**••• [Tokyo, Rescue Tent, 20XX] •••**  
  
"—Oikawa, right?"  
  
He looks down at the freckled face talking to him like they're long-time friends. This person isn't Iwa-chan. Not Iwa-chan. He's not anywhere here. He's itching to move, to leave this tent filled with teary-eyed people covered in a mixture of soot and ashes. There are explosions everywhere and they think it's safer to gather everyone and make them stay in one place, as though that will deter terrorists from attacking them. Iwa-chan is not here. How can this be safe if Iwa-chan is not around?  
  
There's a huge group of refugees to his right, pathetically huddled together around a radio stuttering its sounds after every couple of syllables, no thanks to insufficient signal to get radio waves and the possible dwindling of battery life. He hears words about a huge disk approaching Tokyo airspace from the Pacific Ocean, something about the largest chemical treatment plan exploding, about the sudden poisoning of the air they're breathing. There are some pitiful murmurs about how Japan is also going to undergo a civil war if questions don't get answered soon.  
  
Iwa-chan is not here.  
  
He just wants to find Iwa-chan.  
  
Is that too much to ask?  
  
"—probably don't know me, but that's okay. I remember seeing you play before—"  
  
He usually treats his fans better – he's too nice in pandering to them, especially since Iwa-chan is just secretly jealous of all the attention he gets from the gaggle of girls and boys excited to see his handsome face and athletic body – but his head is throbbing, his heart is hurting and his arms are trembling. He doesn't have the patience to be nice right now, not when Iwa-chan is out there, possibly covered in soot, possibly being slowly poisoned by the increased levels of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere, possibly waiting for him to rescue him.  
  
But then again, if this person has seen him play, then maybe—  
  
"Hey."  
  
"Yes!"  
  
"What's your name?"  
  
"I-I-It's Ikejiri! It's nice to meet you, Oikawa-san! I—"  
  
"Have you seen Iwa-chan?" He rummages around his pockets to produce his phone. His hands first touch something cold and metallic—and he foregoes that in favor for his phone that's also cold and metallic. He taps a few buttons with lightning speed. It's currently set to show Iwa-chan's grumpy face as his wallpaper. The photo fails to capture Iwa-chan's impressive biceps and his muscled body, but the face should be distinctive enough. The eyebrows look menacing enough to be remembered. He shoves his phone nearer to the other's freckled face.  
  
"Mmm… Oh! I remember! Daichi told me about him. That's Seijou's ace, isn't he—umm—?"  
  
He doesn't see any sign on the other's face that he knows Iwa-chan's location.  
  
Freckles doesn't deserve a chance to continue his rambling.  
  
There's deafening silence from the crowd to his right, from the refugees looking at him in horror. He looks down at his hand that's currently fist-deep into Freckles' gut. The tip of his cold and metallic knife – part of the Swiss Army Knife set that Iwa-chan gave him previously – is on Freckles' back.  
  
"His name isn't 'Seijou's ace', it's Iwaizumi Hajime."  
  
He removes his hand from the man's guts. His hands are sticky, so he discreetly wipes them in front of his jeans. He cleans his knife by wrapping the hem of his shirt around the blade – Iwa-chan always scolds him about leaving behind messy things that Iwa-chan ends up cleaning after, so he needs to take care of this immediately.  
  
From the shocked silence that settles into the crowd, one voice has started to cry out a name that will soon be his:  
  
"Monster!"  
  
 _ **••• [the world without light] •••**_  
  
Dark King has conquered another city.  
  
It's only a matter of time until what remains of Japan has been successfully converted into the Dark King's lands. Area 01 remains the stronghold of the Dark King's forces – prefectures and wards mean nothing now – common sense and memories mean nothing in the face of the Dark King's overwhelming power. Citizens are being ushered to the underground cities that are commissioned by the Dark King and someone's just spreading a rumor that none of those recruited citizens end up seeing the light of day again. They're just too enraptured with making themselves useful in the underground cities and repaying the Dark King's benevolence by keeping them under his wing.  
  
Almost like the sudden descent of strange beings from the strange disk above the sky one day – the Dark King has just as abruptly seized control of one refugee rescue tent, then an entire block, then an entire ward, then an entire prefecture, until more than half the country has already been annexed into the Dark King's exponentially-expanding domain.  
  
Nobody has ever seen the Dark King's face nor has anybody directly spoken with the new lord of the land.  
  
Rumor is that the Dark King is one of those aliens. Rumor is that the Dark King is actually planning to overthrow the huge spaceship that's floating just above the skycrapers of the land. Rumor is that the Dark King is actually composed of a rogue faction of the parliament.  
  
Nobody has ever laid eyes on the Dark King but there's no need for anyone to see the Dark King's presence to believe the powers he wields.  
  
Dark King has conquered another city.  
  
It's only a matter of time until the entirety of the country falls to his hands.  
  
 **••• [Area 01, 20XX] •••**  
  
"Iwa-chan…"  
  
He's always been scolded for having an annoying, irritating, grating voice. He calls out the other's name for possibly the millionth time. Like the first few thousand times, there's nobody who responds to his calls.  
  
"You're ignoring me again, Iwa-chan…"  
  
He pouts and the action hurts his lips. He slowly raises his right hand and touches his lips gingerly. His own touch stings and he winces in anticipation of Iwa-chan's scolding. Iwa-chan has always commented on his habit of running his tongue over his lips then biting his lips whenever he's overcome with stress. He should stop biting his lips. He can almost taste his own bitter blood.  
  
"I know, Iwa-chan… I won't do it again, I promise, I promise!"  
  
He raises his head and faces forward. He sees nothing but darkness. He raises his left hand and grasps at the empty air in front of him. He knows that it's not very common for kings to build a throne room where the throne is facing the window instead of the grand entrance to his hall. He always commands for the curtains area to always be drawn, but there's darkness whenever he looks at the space in front of him. The disk above the land effectively blocks any and all of the sunlight.  
  
"I'm getting kind of tired of this hide-and-seek game, Iwa-chan… won't you show yourself?"  
  
He hates being alone. He hates the darkness. He hates being alone in the darkness. He whines as he imagines Iwa-chan being all alone in the darkness beyond his fortress. He closes his eyes and Iwa-chan is just there, from underneath his eyelids, he's just there – he just needs to work harder – he just needs to clear the entire game board so he can win this game with Iwa-chan. He's great with hide-and-seek. He used to love that game, even if it didn't go on for too long because he's noisy and he spills his location way too early. He finds Iwa-chan easily even if Iwa-chan can be really quiet whenever he hides. He doesn't like this game because it's been one-two-ten-forty-sixty-however-long days since he last saw Iwa-chan's face.  
  
"No need to be so stubborn, Iwa-chan… I don't think you've showered since… you're going to be really smelly…"  
  
He hates the smell of sweat. He hates being covered in sweat. He doesn't mind a sweaty Iwa-chan, doesn't mind getting a sweaty shirt thrown to his face, doesn't mind getting a little exhausted and sweaty if it means actually finding Iwa-chan and ending this game.  
  
"Iwa-chan…"  
  
 **••• [Miyagi Prefecture, 2007] •••**  
  
Oikawa Tooru sees an alien on his way back to Iwa-chan's house from the convenience store, plastic bags heavy with snacks in his hands, one otherwise forgettable summer afternoon.  
  
A person wearing an alien costume waves at him from the entrance of the convenience store, gives him a packet of tissue, before telling him in a pinched voice to please support their product.  
  
Right after that, Oikawa bumps into a child nearly the same height as him, with a very familiar face, with a very similar voice to a person that he knows well. But that's how Oikawa knows that the 'child' in front of him is an alien—not because the 'child' barely grunts as he's shoved face first to the summer-heated concrete, not because the 'child' wears a coat in the midst of the hot weather, not because the 'child' has a mean light in his eyes.  
  
After all, the 'child' in front of him looks like a darker twin of Iwa-chan – the same Iwa-chan who's waiting for his return back at his house.  
  
Oikawa Tooru meets an alien for the first time in his life.  
  
 **••• [Area 01, 20XX] •••**  
  
"Iwa-chan… you look constipated like that…"  
  
He looks at Iwa-chan and gestures to the empty seat beside his. He's happy for Iwa-chan for finally achieving his wish of growing taller despite being too old for growth spurts. He's happy that he finally has Iwa-chan with him – even if Iwa-chan's hairstyle has changed a little bit, even if his voice has changed a little bit, even if everything has changed a little bit. He waits for Iwa-chan to take his rightful place beside him. He wonders if Iwa-chan still hasn't forgotten his aversion to being ordered so blatantly, so he clasps his hands in front of him together in his usual, should-be-familiar gesture of asking for a favor.  
  
"You're the Dark King?"  
  
He frowns at Iwa-chan, because his voice really doesn't sound right. Is it because he's been wondering outside with no food or water? But Iwa-chan should be fine now – because he has ordered for him to be clothed, bathed, fed and pampered before being presented to him. Also, why is Iwa-chan asking him that?  
  
"We don't meet for one-hundred-and-sixty-five days and that's the first thing you ask me, Iwa-chan? How cruel!"  
  
He squints at Iwa-chan, because all he sees is darkness recently. He doesn't mind that, because Iwa-chan's image is practically burned to the back of his eyelids, to the darkness that surrounds him. He remembers each and every line and curve on Iwa-chan's figure, each and every strand of spiky hair on his grumpy face, each and every twitch of movement of his muscles. He doesn't see Iwa-chan clearly with his eyes narrowed, so he tries to widen his eyes, tries to take in more of the person he's yearned for.  
  
"I'm not—"  
  
He doesn't remember Iwa-chan ever owning that kind of shirt – because Iwa-chan has some aversion to the color fuchsia, probably because it also reminds him of that stupid super-ace that stopped them on their way so many times. What was that wall's name anyway? He honestly can't remember and he honestly doesn't care at this point. He doesn't mind Iwa-chan wearing that color, because the important thing is that Iwa-chan is in front of him right now, after months of loneliness.  
  
"Come closer, Iwa-chan… I missed you, you know?"  
  
He waves his hands to pull the other closer to him. There are dark figures beside Iwa-chan, who also move forward along with Iwa-chan who seems to be dragging his feet. Doesn't he know how lonely he felt while he was waiting for their hide-and-seek to end?  
  
"Oikawa Tooru, what happened to you? I'm not your ace—I'm Ushijima Wakatoshi."  
  
He looks at Iwa-chan who's weirdly kneeling in front of him. The dark figures surrounding him are pushing at his back. He waves them away, because he doesn't want Iwa-chan on his knees. He just wants Iwa-chan back with him, beside him, with him. He frowns again at Iwa-chan's words – he usually makes a lot more sense than this. He forgives Iwa-chan's nonsensical babbling, because it has been one-hundred-and-sixty-five days. He knows how it feels to not be without the other, understands how that fact can rattle his thoughts, empathizes with how that can confuse Iwa-chan who's probably trying to survive outside all alone.  
  
"Ahaha, you're so strange, Iwa-chan. Are you still tired? Don't you want to sit beside me? It's been so long and you're talking about this Oikawa and Ushijima? Should I be jealous? Did you meet someone new out there? Trust me, I'm still the most handsome guy here, okay, Iwa-chan? …Iwa-chan? What's wrong? Don't kneel—are you crying? Iwa-chan? Iwa-chan!"  
  
 **••• [Hokkaido, 2017] •••**  
  
"Uwaaa—this is good, Iwa-chan!"  
  
"Don't speak with your mouth full."  
  
"Mm, but this is sooooo good!"  
  
Oikawa shovels another spoonful of the mushroom omelet to his still-half-full mouth, his face the very picture of gluttony and contentment.  
  
"You're not afraid to be seen by your 'fans' eating like a caveman?"  
  
Iwa-chan makes sure to use very obvious and exaggerated quotation marks as he drops the word 'fans' like something nasty. Oikawa would normally laugh and console Iwa-chan that he should be able to hypothetically charm someone, even just one person, despite his boringness and meanness, so he shouldn't be so jealous that Oikawa-san's popularity is too much, they're practically Beauty and the Beast at this point.  
  
Oikawa makes sure to swallow all of the food in his mouth and drinks from his glass of juice before replying. Iwa-chan's been really strict when it comes to manners recently and his pinches are always aimed at the very sensitive skin of his thighs whenever he reprimands poor Oikawa-san.  
  
"Mmm, there's not a lot of people yet, anyway—did we really have to wake up this early, Iwa-chan? You sure are excited to be on this trip with me, aren't you?" Despite the lack of sleep, Oikawa easily dodges the harsh slap aimed at his forehead, as he waves his fork around like a magic wand. "And I'm sure that they're going to be more focused on my face than what I'm doing! Though that's not something you would know, hmm, Iwa-chan~?"  
  
"There's not a lot of customers here yet," Iwa-chan agrees with him with a low chuckle, "so nobody will see if I throw you into the trash, huh?"  
  
"Ehh? Why would you do that, Iwa-chan? Who would accompany you on this trip then? You would be sooo lonely without me!"  
  
"My life will be a lot more peaceful, more like."  
  
"That's what you say now, Iwa-chan! Though denial doesn't suit you—you're a bad liar, after all."  
  
"Who says I'm in denial?"  
  
Oikawa makes a show of thinking really hard, in-between bites of the heavenly mushroom omelet. "The fact that you still stick with me despite claiming that I'm a pain in the ass?"  
  
"There must be something in Hokkaido's air." Iwa-chan's nose is red – from the cool weather or from something else. His cheeks are pink, like he's embarrassed. It's kind of cute and disturbing, because it's too early for such confusing sights in Oikawa's opinion. His mind is not prepared to process the sudden shyness on his best friend's figure. "You're unexpectedly honest today."  
  
"Must be the great food," Oikawa shrugs noncommittally, shoving yet another spoonful of the food into his mouth. "Make sure you cook this for me every day, Iwa-chan!"  
  
"What a cheeky request." Iwa-chan finishes his food at a more sedate pace. "Idiots like you only deserve leftovers."  
  
"But you'll do it for the lovely Oikawa-san~?"  
  
"There's nothing lovely about you, you dumbass."  
  
But Iwa-chan still did it for him.  
  
Like before.  
  
Like always.  
  
After all, Iwa-chan has always treated him like a King.  
  
 **••• [Area 01, 20XX] •••**  
  
"You're not Iwa-chan."  
  
He makes a motion with his hands, flinging it in front of his neck and making a slicing motion, before doing a thumbs-down. That has been the agreed-upon signal to remove the offending impostor in front of his eyes that see nothing but darkness, aside from short bursts of light. He's getting tired of this, but he thinks of that every day for the past two-hundred-and-eighty-three days. He needs to see Iwa-chan soon, not the line of impostors that are presented to him, not the idiots who think he's so desperate to see Iwa-chan that he'll make do with them.  
  
"You're not Iwa-chan."  
  
He hates that constipated guy for walking up to him and telling him that he'll handle the search for Iwa-chan. He hates him because he looks so familiar, almost like that guy who he hated with a burning need to wipe the cocky smirk off with his own hands. He hates him for taking so long to find Iwa-chan, even with the whole of Japan conquered. He should have no problems searching for just one person.  
  
"You're not Iwa-chan."  
  
He doesn't even need to scrutinize the line of people paraded in front of him to know that it's not Iwa-chan. They don't give off that cool aura that only Iwa-chan has.  
  
"…You're not Iwa-chan…"  
  
 **••• [Tokyo, 2027] •••**  
  
"I look good, right, Iwa-chan???"  
  
Oikawa playfully bats his eyelashes at the man beside him, skipping away when the other's arm tenses from his words. Iwa-chan is so fun to be with, because he reacts in a manner that's both predictable yet new each time. He's also possibly the only person who can resist him despite him using all of the charms in his arsenal. He's very blessed to have Iwa-chan with him in this life, though that kind of sappy thought is probably not going to leave his mouth and be taken seriously. Just for that, he thinks of telling Iwa-chan those feelings, because it would be very cute to watch Iwa-chan flail at him, while berating him for saying sappy shit while at the same time gauging how truthful his words are.  
  
"You look stupid as always, dumbasskawa."  
  
Despite his harsh words, Iwa-chan still reaches out a hand to ruffle his carefully-styled hair. Oikawa squawks a protest about his hair taking more than hour to perfectly arrange, but he still keeps sort-of-still within Iwa-chan's range. The photo shoot is finished anyway and he's looking forward to seeing his gorgeous face printed on the iced tea brand that sponsors him within the next month.  
  
"Tut-tut-tut, no need to be jealous of my lovely face, Iwa-chan~" He chuckles when Iwa-chan's gentle ruffling changes to giving him a noogie. Iwa-chan's really so predictable. "Hey—!!! Don't ruin my hair!"  
  
"That's punishment for saying stupid shit."  
  
"So mean!"  
  
But despite those harsh words, despite the fact that Iwa-chan has a very busy schedule and has practically zero hours of sleep for the past five days, Iwa-chan still dragged himself to pick Oikawa up from the photo shoot.  
  
Iwa-chan still prioritizes him.  
  
Above himself.  
  
Above everyone else.  
  
Above everything in this world.  
  
After all, Iwa-chan has always considered him a King.  
  
 **••• [Area 01, 20XX] •••**  
  
"Hmm~ I need you to find Iwa-chan within the next twenty-four hours, unless you want me to destroy your town~?"  
  
He honestly has no idea if he'll be able to make good on that threat – rumor has it that he's made a devilish contract with the aliens aboard the UFO floating aimlessly atop what used to be Tokyo – but saying those words feel good, gratifying even. He smiles and he loves how the temperature in the room feels ten degrees colder from it. He keeps his eyes closed – or maybe they're open, it's not like it matters – because all he sees is darkness either way. He thinks he's seated on his throne, with the empty seat beside him still, facing the wide window that overlooks the remains of their hometown and the darkness from beyond.  
  
He doesn't wait for his underlings to reply, doesn't wait for the sounds of their hurried footsteps to fade, doesn't wait for the air to settle down, before he angles his face to his left. He can't see anything but his intuition remains sharp and he can feel a presence beside him, unknown to anyone else. He remembers meeting this creature before, years ago, in front of a convenience store in their hometown, walking around in uncomfortable weather while wearing Iwa-chan's skin. He remembers getting laughed at by his peers for his insistence that aliens are real. He remembers being scolded by his parents for being so childish. He remembers Iwa-chan looking at him with an unreadable expression whenever he brings this up.  
  
He's a King now.  
  
He's a Dark King now, according to the whispers of the citizens that are evicted from their homes and moved into underground cities so that they will stop clogging the streets with their unwanted presence and making it harder for him to find Iwa-chan. He's a Dark King now, according to the rumors that have spread and claimed that he has made a deal with the aliens to harvest human organs in exchange for malevolent power. He's a Dark King now, according to the constipated-looking guy who had presented himself as his enforcer, even if he didn't need the other's help at all, because all he needs is Iwa-chan and maybe a packet of milk bread or two. He's a Dark King now, according to the rebel forces that are futilely resisting his efforts in removing them from sight so that they wouldn't keep Iwa-chan away from him.  
  
 _—"Once I am king, you'll be my knight and you'll bully everyone for me, right? ... And you'll protect me and kill all the bugs, then give me milk bread every day and then guard me while I sleep."_  
  
He's a King now, but he doesn't have a knight and he bullies everyone from his throne. He doesn't need protection and he will kill all the bugs and he hasn't eaten a single packet of milk bread since four-hundred-sixteen days ago and he doesn't think he's slept since Iwa-chan has started their game of hide-and-seek.  
  
All he sees is darkness in front of him, but that doesn't matter because he's a king now with an unmoving, unspeaking alien lurking around him, wearing an uncomfortable set of clothes and Iwa-chan's skin.  
  
There are still one-hundred-eighty-four countries left.  
  
He doesn't mind destroying them one by one until he finds Iwa-chan.  
  
After all, he's a Dark King now.  
  
 **••• [Tokyo Tower, 2028] •••**  
  
"That's the Dark King's headquarters?"  
  
"Looks kind of shabby…"  
  
"How is the goddamn Tokyo Tower shabby???"  
  
"Hah? Wanna fight city-boy?"  
  
"You're on, baldie!"  
  
"Stop it, you guys, you're going to blow our cover!"  
  
"Suga, there's really no cover here, whatsoever…"  
  
"Lighten up, Suga! There's nobody here aside from us, anyway!"  
  
"Koushi's right – pipe down everyone!"  
  
"Eh, captain-kun's acting like a captain, even if he isn't a captain anymore~?"  
  
"It doesn't look like a castle?" Hinata Shouyou squints at the tallest building in the area. He's kind of disappointed that he's never had the chance to actually go to the Tokyo Tower when it wasn't occupied by aliens and by sadistic Dark Kings who think they can just start owning the country and cutting off all television shows and shuttling off people to create ghost towns everywhere and causing so much trouble that the Olympics are going to be pushed back indefinitely. It's so unfair, especially since Hinata's been training non-stop for that new weapon he can't wait to use on an official match and now he's just all gwaaaa with a different type of training in order to survive. He just wants this to be over with so he can go back to playing volleyball with Tobio.  
  
Speaking of Tobio, there's a sullen expression on his face that's almost a mirror of Tsukishima's usual look. It's kind of creepy, especially since they're standing close together right now – not due to any new friendships being formed in the name of their high school volleyball group finding each other amidst the wreckage of the world – but due to the fact that the room they're currently using as their headquarters doesn't have enough space to house a rowdy group of adults who seem to prefer acting like teenagers.  
  
"—Kenma says he managed to hack into the security cameras!"  
  
"…no need to announce it, Kuroo…"  
  
"Wow, way to go Kenma-san!"  
  
"That's great, Kenma!"  
  
"Aw, Yaku-san, why can't you do that spy thingy as well? You're losing against Kenma here…"  
  
"This isn't a competition and shut your mouth, Lev."  
  
"My Akaashi can do that spy thingy too! Right, Akaashi?!"  
  
"I can't do that, Bokuto-san."  
  
"Ehhhh?! Don't say that, Akaashi, I believe in you!"  
  
"…I'm glad to hear that, but I'm a detective, Bokuto-san. I didn't study IT at all."  
  
"But you're smart—that should be easy!"  
  
"Pffft, too bad you're not smart, owl-head."  
  
"Ohohoho, looks like you're infecting Tsukki with your meanness, Kuroo!"  
  
"What are you talking about? I'm the epitome of kindness. He's mean all on his own."  
  
"Tsukki's not mean!!!"  
  
"…Shut up, Tadashi."  
  
"Sorry, Tsukki!"  
  
"Ugh, we're not going anywhere…"  
  
"…Futakuchi-kun, please stop glaring and blocking the window so I can get a clear shot."  
  
"…"  
  
They're a rag-tag group of so-called rebels, though it would be more appropriate to call their group an unholy reunion of people who have played volleyball together during their high school years. There are a lot of different personalities, so it's understandably difficult to control their actions. Despite challenges, their group has managed to grow and stay under the radar of the Dark King that seems to be out of some fantasy story or a comic book – what with the power to spread darkness and the power to summon aliens and the power to wreak havoc wherever he pleased.  
  
Of course, one of the main reasons they have stayed intact was thanks to the surprising leadership and survival skills of a certain member of their group.  
  
"Man, I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but this would be much easier if we also had someone sneaky and smart with us."  
  
Hinata agrees and he can immediately think of one person who's the personification of cunning, confidence and composure. It will be a lot easier if he's with them, because invading the Tokyo Tower to stop the Dark King with the force of a hundred volleyballs sound awesome in paper, but lacking in theory. He isn't insensitive though, nor is he stupid, no matter what Tobio said during his moments of anger. He doesn't mention that person's name at all, because—  
  
"Like Oikawa-san?"  
  
Hinata face-palms at those words and resists the urge to hit his head against the flimsy wall of their room. He instead opts for sharing a look with Kenma from across the room, before he nudges Tobio to shut his mouth.  
  
There's absolute silence – a rarity in their group – as everyone (except for Tobio) looks at their surprising leader with varying levels of pity, awkwardness and sadness.  
  
Hinata's not sure what to expect – because he doesn't know the other too well and it's hard to gain a proper read of the other's expressions and body language. Their leader looks out at the window and into the darkness that has covered the skies for the past year.  
  
His expression is unreadable and his voice is even as he says:  
  
"…yeah, it would be easier if that dumbass was here."  
  
Hinata's not sure what to expect – but despite the mention of the childhood friend that he lost to the first waves of the terrorist attacks, Iwaizumi Hajime stands strong and unmoved, like a heroic knight that will vanquish the evil from the land.  
  
 **••• [Area 01, 20XX] •••**  
  
"Oikawa—"  
  
"…"  
  
"…Dark King."  
  
"You better have good news for me or else I won't forgive you~"  
  
"We've received a lead on Iwaizumi Hajime's whereabouts."  
  
There's a loud clash as the room crackles with the burst of emotion that the Dark King feels from those words. Some would say it's unsightly for a king to fall from his throne, but anyone who dares defy the King can go ahead and enjoy their time being fried in the dungeons underneath this steel tower of his.  
  
"Where—is—Iwa-chan—?"  
  
"…he's… our sources indicate that he's leading the rebels against your reign."  
  
"…"  
  
"Oikawa—Dark King—are you all right…?"  
  
There's another loud crash – this time, it's almost as though the entire heavens are moved by the king's emotions. Lightning forks appear in quick succession around the tower and the booms of the accompanying thunder are enough to turn a person temporarily deaf.  
  
"Fufufu," the Dark King's shoulders shake in elation, "poor, poor, Iwa-chan~ he's been kidnapped by those fools… I need to find him soon and save him… ahh, I need to cut my hair and look my best… his room is already prepared… but it should be cleaned again… ahahaha, he really can't resist resisting me, can he? Iwa-chan's finally here!"  
  
It has been four hundred, forty-four days.  
  
Today, Dark King Oikawa Tooru's going to rebuild his world.  
  
 _ **••• [the world without light] •••**_  
  
••• END: "the world without light", part two of the "the world without" series •••  
••• NEXT: "the world without order" – Iwaizumi Hajime's path to knighthood •••


End file.
